Heavy Heart

I awoke this morning with a heavy heart. During some moment last night while I was drifting to sleep I opened my eyes to see the headline "Osama bin Laden Dead" scroll across the television screen. I usually don't turn on the television in the morning (except for cartoons) but did first thing to see if it were really true.

I spend countless moments every day redirecting my children from violent or hurtful responses to responses that ask accountability while being kind and compassionate. I work to help teach my three and five year olds that even when someone else hurts us, we don't have to hurt back. I work to teach them that violence does not require a violent response.

And yet today I wake up and hear some (not all, mind you) people rejoicing at a violent death. And as a nation rejoices I wonder how to teach my children appropriate responses to the hurts we endure.

My reaction has nothing to do with who is right or who is wrong. It has nothing to do with taking sides. It just simply has to do with my heart which cannot rejoice in the death of anyone. My heart which realizes some rejoiced in the death of Jesus. My heart which regardless of a person's actions can't forget that everyone is a child or a spouse or a parent or a friend of someone else who loves him or her. My heart which is heavy today as I feel that the road to teaching my children peace just got steeper.